USA travel guide

Where does one start when it comes to travelling in the USA? Well, with our USA travel guide, which takes you around not only the national park wonders in the Rocky Mountains but the deserts and canyons of the West, the culture-rich Deep South and the littoral loveliness of both east and west coasts, as well as on road trips that take in bits and pieces of all of them.

USA travel guide

We all feel that we know the USA already because of icons that have pervaded the psyche during our lifetimes. When you take your first trip to New York you just instantly feel as if you are on a movie set. Hit the deserts and ranchlands of the southwest, and it’s like you’ve entered a time machine, unable to resist the urge to whistle the theme tune from The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. But the USA has so much more - The Gorgeous, the Beautiful and the Unforgettably Uplifting. Such as the Rocky Mountains, Alaska and the Deep South respectively. And that’s just for starters, because the USA is just so big.

AFTER SEEING ALASKA'S GLACIERS, THE DESERT CANYONS OR THE RESPLENDENT GEYSERS OF YELLOWSTONE, YOU WILL NEVER TEASE AN AMERICAN ABOUT NOT OWNING A PASSPORT. THEY HAVE MORE NATURAL WONDERS THAN MOST OF EUROPE PUT TOGETHER.

Americans can sometimes seem obsessed with telling you that their state has the longest river, tallest building or highest peak. They just can’t stop themselves from making everything a competition. But they don’t need to. Every state has at least one star. We know that from their flag, right? Our USA travel guide shows off the lesser-known stars that shine just as brightly as the icons.

What we rate & what we don't

UNDERRATED

Deep South blues

Feel the blood of the Deep South’s cultural heart pumping on every street corner, bar and shoreline of the Mississippi River as you travel through iconic places like Nashville, Memphis and New Orleans. Combine this with the civil rights history of Memphis and Birmingham, every stop in this region is a cultural highpoint. Throw in gumbo or jambalaya, local whisky, and you have one big party.

Indigenous culture

We associate tribal culture more with Africa or Asia, but indigenous tribes of the USA play an important role in tourism. The most politically correct term for indigenous Indian people is Native American, American Indian or the full tribal name, such as Ute Indian. In addition, there are Alaska Natives and Native Hawaiians many of whom are keen to engage in tourism and have their stories told.

The Big Green Apple

More of a Big Secret than a Big Apple. Stretching all the way to Canada, New York State has a capital called Albany, is home to Niagara Falls, touches two Great Lakes and the Atlantic Ocean, has ski slopes an hour from the city and its Adirondack Mountains region is bigger than five of the biggest national parks combined. Manhattan is cool, but Brooklyn is the biz. And the Statue of Liberty is fab, but kayaking there feels like having freedom of the city.

Food

America introduced us to fast food, but there is now a huge backlash against it in the US, with slow food, or ‘Farm to Fork’, more prevalent in New York, for example, than London, Paris or Tokyo. People won’t look at you strangely if you ask what’s local on the menu and many restaurants are even learning to reduce the famously American wasteful portions too.

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Alaska

A land of extraordinary national parks and indigenous culture. Wrangell St-Elias National Park is the USA’s largest national park, a giant of glacial gorgeousness the size of Switzerland alone. Head here for hiking on glaciers, ice climbing, kayaking through frozen fjords, and taking in the tumultuous taiga and sub-arctic tundra and its resident wildlife wonders such as orca and humpback whales, grizzly bears and wolves.

Panoply of parks

There are 60 extraordinary national parks in the USA, with superbly managed trail systems, informative websites, and all-knowing rangers that resemble all your favourite geography teachers ever. In addition, there are national monuments, rivers, seashores and so much more, all coming under the national park umbrella

Wildlife watching

People forget how many vast, wild places there are in the USA. Escape the flashy theme parks and mega-mall shopping, get off the tourist trails and onto the back trails to see the likes of elk roaming free in the Rocky Mountains, bison in Yellowstone or whales basking in Alaska. The national parks are the best places for spotting wildlife in their natural habitats.

You're welcome

And they really mean it. America is the hostess with the mostess. She does hospitality. It’s in her genes. Once you get past the nightmare that is US immigration, they smile, they adore Europeans, they bend over backwards to help you, feed and water you and, and if you have a query, they will do everything they can to find the answer.

Captive killer whales

Theme parks are a big attraction for many tourists to the USA, with Mickey Mouse being the main reason for many first time visitors. Unfortunately, Captive orcas, dolphins and sea lions are often part of this package, where the exploitation of these marine mammals is, in our opinion, totally unethical. It is also the growing opinion of many travel companies now removing trips there from their itineraries as awareness grows.

Orlando & Miami

Why go for the theme park tourism of Florida, which is not only superficial but super humid and super crowded, when you can explore the nearby national parks. So near and yet they feel like separate worlds. The Everglades Wetlands are home to crocodiles and manatees, while Biscayne, with emerald islands and coral reefs, is shimmeringly beautiful. You will save a fortune and see a whole new side to the Sunshine State.

Las Vegas

There are times when you just have to jump on that high horse and shout “enough already!”. Gambling, over-usage of energy, prostitution (illegal in Las Vegas itself, but plenty of legal brothels in the environs), traffic congestion, the arid climate yet water costs $5 a bottle, tacky consumerism, drunken antisocial behavior. Know when to fold ‘em.

Los Angeles

The city everyone thinks they have to visit once, but much of it is actually just one big smelly traffic jam and the rest is a somewhat surreal trip into the excesses of Hollywood and hedonism. Head to San Francisco, Seattle or Portland which all offer just as much. And more, if overdosing on wild places, the ocean, mountains and nature are more of the sort of hit you need.

Food, shopping & people

Eating & drinking in the USA

Farm to fork, or slow food, is everywhere. They even coined the phrase locavore, meaning people who love local food.

Cajun and Creole just add to the tasty cultural mix of the Deep South.

Carnivores will go bonkers for bison and elk in the ranchland states.

Alaskan seafood is the best. And if you are game, try caribou, moose or elk.

Microbreweries and micro distilleries are unstoppable right now in the US. As are vineyards. Yet, it is still illegal to have an alcoholic drink with a picnic in the park in most states. Go figure.

Gifts & shopping

Cowboy hat. Can’t have a holiday in the Wild West without one. A few suppliers make them bespoke but this is rare. Saddler shops are your best bet.

Seek out American Indian reservations to buy their crafts in situ not at ‘the mall’.

There are a lot of farm shops in the USA with nonperishable goods such as woollens or handmade toiletries.

The USA does great gear for outdoor lovers. Lots of small towns have boutique stores for hikers, bikers and kayakers.

The locally crafted indigenous Ulu knife from Alaska is a great gift.

New York’s biggest industry? Not money markets, not tourism, but agriculture. And mostly from smallholdings. It has to be the hottest farm to fork state out there.

How much does it cost?

Annual pass to all national parks for two adults: £60

Coast to coast Amtrak train NY – San Francisco: From £135

Standard tip in restaurants: 15-20% of the pre-tax bill

Bottle of Coloradan wine from winery: £10-15

Remember restaurants and retailers always add a sales tax to the total bill.

A brief history of the USA

Americans always have a bit of a chip on their shoulder when it comes to history, especially if you are visiting from Europe. ‘Oh, we have nothing very old or interesting here compared with you guys’, many of them say. And given that the first permanent Spanish settlers arrived in 1565 in St Augustine, present day Florida, this is true in many ways. The old buildings look almost mid twentieth century modern to many Europeans. Americans should knock off that chip, however, because the history and journey of its pre and post-colonial existence is totally enlightening, and indeed often frightening, so it is really worth reading up in more detail before you spend any serious time there.Read more

Indigenous history
It is 30 years since National Museum of the American Indian Act (NMAIA) opened a new era in Native American–museum relations by highlighting the spiritual and ethical concerns of tribes. Consequently, if you want to get to grips with the history, issues, heritage and culture, you can now visit the impressive National Museum of the American Indian in Washington DC and also New York City, part of the Smithsonian Institution. Just to whet your appetite, Congress only gave indigenous people right to citizenship in 1924.

Slavery
The geographical spread of colonists continued along the east coast throughout the 16th and 17th centuries, with more permanent English settlers arriving in Jamestown, Virginia in 1607, followed by the Pilgrim Fathers, English Puritans who landed in Plymouth, Cape Cod, in 1620. Thus the name New England. With colonisation and the creation of plantations, came one of the darkest times of world history, however, with hundreds of thousands of slaves being brought into the USA to work the land. The National Museum of American History states that “Slavery was deeply woven into the fabric of the United States and challenged the meaning of democracy. Enslaved people’s work formed an economic engine producing half of all U.S. exports and providing much of the financial capital and raw materials to spark industrialization. Bought and sold as property, enslaved people were valued at an estimated $2.7 billion in 1860.” And although slavery continued for two hundred years, there is still no National Museum of Slavery in the USA, despite the efforts of various lobbying groups. There was hope for one to be built a few years ago in Fredericksburg, Virginia, considered to be the second largest slave trading station (after New Orleans) in U.S. history, but funding issues brought that idea to a halt.

The American Revolution
The next big thing to try and get your head around as a visitor to the USA, is the American Revolution. The Continental Army was established in 1775 by the thirteen colonies that then became the first United States of America, and who revolted against British rule. The British had already won over the French during the Seven Years’ War, which culminated in 1763, the British gaining control of the South, where the French had control to that point. Indeed, the French influences are still strong today in this region of the South.
The Continental Army was led by General George Washington who succeeded in gaining independence. Which leads us to the famous 4 July, 1776 when Thomas Jefferson's American Declaration of Independence was endorsed by Congress and the USA’s new chapter in history began, and is still celebrated annually, with fervour, fun and a lot of fireworks. Britain didn’t finally concede all of its colonies, however, until 1783 upon the signing of the Treaty of Paris. The new Constitution for the USA came into effect in 1788, and in 1789 George Washington was elected the first president.

American Civil War
It wasn’t until 1854 that the American apple cart was well and truly toppled again, when the opponents of slavery, or abolitionists, set up the Republican Party, leading to Republican Abraham Lincoln being elected president in 1860. Civil War reigned from 1861 – 1865 as the Abolitionist North battled with the generally pro-slavery southern states, the latter forming the Confederate States of America, having broken away from the Union. After four years of vicious combat, the death of 600,000 Union and Confederate soldiers and the destruction of much of the South's infrastructure, the Confederacy collapsed and slavery was abolished, although the guaranteeing of freed slaves’ civil rights became a complex issue in itself.

From Hawaii to HiroshimaThere are many other significant events in American history, of course, but getting to grips with some of these key events will help you enjoy your own journey of discovery across America. In 1898, for example, the US gained Puerto Rico, Guam, the Philippines and Cuba following the Spanish-American war. They also annexed Hawaii in this year, the location of Pearl Harbour, of course, which was attacked by the Japanese in 1941, leading to the US declaring war on Japan. Germany declared war on the USA as a result, leading to mass intervention by the USA in World War II, and the eventual defeat of Germany. In 1945, the US dropped two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, leading to the surrender of Japan.

Cold War and Civil Rights
The 1950’s, although relatively peaceful, was a turbulent time emotionally in the USA. The seminal civil rights movement for Americans of African descent began, racial segregation in schools became unconstitutional although the Civil Rights Act wasn’t actually signed into law until 1964, outlawing segregation in all public places including those of work. The Voting Rights Act in 1965 gave all black people the right to vote, a time of change and celebration which was shattered by the assassination of civil rights leader Martin Luther King in 1968. Indeed, the civil rights movement is still strong today in the USA, with many people of colour still living under extremely disadvantaged conditions and fighting for equal rights and non-discrimination.

International interventions and invasions
The sixties saw turbulence abroad again, this time with American involvement in both Cuba and Vietnam. International interventions in areas of conflict have been a feature of American politics and economics since this period but, as with all conflicts, they are not without controversy. Such as invading Grenada in 1983, leading military campaigns in Libya in 1986, Panama in 1989, Iraq in 1991, and former Yugoslavia in 1999. And then, of course, the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan following the attacks of 9/11, 2001 in the USA.

The present
In November, 2008, Democratic Senator Barack Obama became the first black president of the United States. He was reelected in 2012 and followed in 2016 by one Donald J. Trump, former reality TV show host, self-styled business guru and quite probably the most controversial leader America has ever had. The latest chapter in American history is sure to be a very interesting one. So, the next time an American tries to dismiss or downplay their country's ‘history’, or their role in influencing world events, you can ask them to think again.

All of our USA guides in one place, featuring particular locations such as Alaska or Colorado. Or perhaps you want to know more about different types of USA holidays we offer such as cruising or wildlife in the USA.